OK, then as a new foundation resident, i'd like to say a big "HELLO" to everybody .... actually, i'm proud to join this great project.
So according to this topic, i would make a suggestion. In RL, i have some experience with methods, how to make decisions in a big group of people, that i'd like to bring in. I would suggest to do it in the indian tradition of a "talking circle".
I'll explain shortly how it works, then you can think about it.
A group of people who want to make a decision come together in a circle. The group can be big or small, that doesn't matter, maybe only in how long the talking will go....
There is one item, called talking-stick...this item goes round the circle from one person to the next...and only the one, who has the talking stick, is allowed to talk, and tell his oppinion about the topic to the others. The others have to listen and keep attention to what the talker says. After the talker has finished, the stick is passed to the next in the circle...and so it goes round and round. If someone has nothing to say, he just passes the stick.
A decision is done by a "negative consensus". The consensus is there, when nobody in the circle is against the decision. If only one is against the decision, the talking circle will go on, until the consensus is found, or, if there is no consensus, the decision is not made, and everything keeps how it is (was).
I joined many talking circles while being with very large groups of people (5000 and more), where decisions just about every aspect of a community had to be found, and i can tell you wholeheartedly, that this method works really well. But it can only work, if people are willing to find a consensus, and dont stay on their oppinion, just for ego reasons. Everybody has to be open for the talking of the others and has to be open to the arguments of others.
In this way, very slowly, a very democratic decision is formed. It is feeded by all aspects of different oppinions, but usually, at the end, a totally new construct formed by all the different aspects is found....
So i would suggest, to make a "foundation circle", and every fouder can ask for a circle, if he thinks, he has something important, and a decision has to be made. We can meet in OL, maybe every time at a different place and at a different time. Every founder, who thinks, that this topic is important, and who thinks, he has something to say about this, can join the circle and has a voice. It could also be done in a chat, but i think, coming together in OL will help a lot, because you see the presence of the others, you see the circle and the talking stick.
We could all try it out, and make a foundation circle just as a test. We come together, and talk in the circle of whatever we feel in our hearts. This way, we all will know us much better. Maybe we can make some small decision, for example of how many founders have to be in the circle to make a consensus that is valid for all.
What do you think about it? Maybe you can read some internet ressources about the talking cirlce...its really worth it... From my experience, its the best and most effective way to make democratic, well worked out decisions without any leaders. And everybody has a voice that is heard by the others.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_circle
Greetings, love and light
Galen